nothing? Must we not earn what we desire?
Answer: Creation is finished! It is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom. The parable of the prodigal son is your answer. In spite of
man's waste, when he comes to his senses and remembers who he is, he
feeds on the fatted calf of abundance and wears the robe and ring of au-
thority. There is nothing to earn. Creation was finished in the foundation
of time. You, as man, are God made visible for the purpose of display-
ing what is, not what is to be. Do not think you must work out your salva-
tion by the sweat of your brow. It is not four months until the harvest, the
fields are already white, simply thrust in the sickle.
- Question: Does not the thought that creation is finished rob one of his
initiative?
Answer: If you observe an event before it occurs, then the occuring event
must be predetermined from the point of view of being awake in this
three dimensional world. Yet, you do not have to encounter what you ob-
serve. You can, by changing your concept of self, interfere with your fu-
ture and mold it in harmony with your changed concept of self.
- Question: Does not this ability to change the future deny that creation
is finished?
Answer: No. You, by changing your concept of self, change your relation-
ship to things. If you rearrange the words of a play to write a different
one, you have not created new words, but simply had the joy of rearrang-
ing them. Your concept of self determines the order of events you en-
counter. They are in the foundation of the world, but not their order of
arrangement.
- Question: Why should one who works hard in metaphysics always
seem to lack?
Answer: Because he has not really applied metaphysics. I am not speak-
ing of a mamby-pamby approach to life, but a daily application of the law
of consciousness. When you appropriate your good, there is no need for a
man, or state, to act as a medium through which your good will come.
Living in a world of men, money is needed in my every day life. If I in-
vite you to lunch tomorrow, I must pick up the check. When I leave the
hotel, I must pay the bill. In order to take the train back to New York my
railway fare must be paid. I need money and it has to be there. I am not
going to say, "God knows best, and He knows I need money." Rather, I
will appropriate the money as though it were! We must live boldly! We
must go through life as though we possessed what we want to possess.
Do not think that because you helped another, someone outside of you
saw your good works and will give you something to ease your burden.